Shale Gas

Greening of America?
By Ethan Bellavance, Kaylyn
Hawkes, Justin Grodman, Dan Hale,
Caitlin Shea
 What is Shale Gas?
 95.5% Methane, 2.5%
Ethane, 0.2% Propane.
 Large Domestic Source
of energy
 5.4 Tcf/year in 1998 to
8.9 Tcf/year in 2007

http://www.uniongas.com/aboutus/aboutng/composition.asp
Arthur, J Daniel. (2008). An Overview of Modern Shale Gas Development in the United
States. AllConsulting. http://www.all
llc.com/publicdownloads/ALLShaleOverviewFINAL.pdf
USGS
 Natural Gas Production

 Arthur, J Daniel. (2008). An Overview of Modern Shale Gas Development in the United States.
AllConsulting. http://www.all llc.com/publicdownloads/ALLShaleOverviewFINAL.pdf
 Types of Unconventional Natural
Gas
 Tight Gas Sands
 Coal Bed Methane
 Gas Shale’s- Most Expansive Growth,
Comprise 50-60% of countries reserves
growth by 2011

Arthur, J Daniel. (2008). An Overview of Modern Shale Gas Development in the United States. AllConsulting.
http://www.all llc.com/publicdownloads/ALLShaleOverviewFINAL.pdf
 Three factors that have created
the unconventional natural gas
industry.
 Directional Drilling
 Hydraulic Fracturing Quic kTime™ and a
TIFF (Unc ompres sed) decompress or
are needed to see this picture.

 High well prices

http://www.theoildrum.com/files/perforating3_0.jpg
 Marcellus Shale
Deposited over
350 Million years
ago.

USGS
Area and Depth of Marcellus
Shale

USGS
 Objectives
 Assess whether water release from acid fracturing is
detrimental to surface water and aquifers?
 Determine if the amount of water necessary for acid
fracturing can be sustainably extracted from existing
watershed aquifers.
 Observe how the process of acid fracturing effects
local ecosystems.
 Analyze the national and local socioeconomic impact
of acid fracturing in regard to potential job creation,
US energy profile, social values, and land use.
 Hydraulic Fracturing
 Three treatments available
 Foam
 Gel
 Slickwater
 Slickwater Treatments
 Introduction of “rock acid” - cleans out well
 Slickwater plug- formed with water, sand
and additives. Friction reducing chemicals
to allow faster pumping.
 Fracturing- over a million gallons of water,
sand and chemicals.
 Flush- recovery of water in pumps to allow
collection of gases.
 QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

http://www.propublica.org/special/hydraulic-fracturing-
national
 Acid Fracturing
 Each Fracture is unique
 Based on local stress conditions.
 Typically contains 98% water and sand, and
2% chemicals
 Currently 197 products used in slickwater
process, 152 products known

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, 2009).

Chemical Additives

(NYS Department of Environmental

Conservation, 2009)
Water Quantity
 Water Withdrawals
 Variety of sources
 Proximity to drill site
 Three to four million gallons for typical
horizontal shale gas well
 0.5 to six million gallons for hydraulic
fracturing of the Marcellus Shale
 Used in relatively short time period
 Water Transport
 Location and type of sources
 Longer route distance = more expensive and less
water efficiency
 Reliability of source as constant supply
 Rate and timing of withdrawals are key
 Effects on Water Resources
 Reduction in stream flow
 Stream’s uses and public supplies altered
 Adjacent habitats altered
 Recreational uses, potable and culinary
uses, fish survival and propagation, disposal
of wastes
 Effects Continued
 Depletion of aquifers
 Cumulative withdrawals
 Occurs when volume extracted > recharge
rate
 Potentially lead to reduction to aboveground
bodies of water
 Translocation of water from watershed
 Ecosystem Impacts
 Adverse effects on local ecosystems
 Natural cycles essential to ecosystems
 Alterations in flow regimes affect habitat
 Improper techniques and structures for
withdrawing
 Water uptake flow velocity
 Transporting invasive species
 Effects on Wetlands
 Susceptibility to draining of water
 Quantity withdrawn has direct impacts
depending on natural dynamics of flow
 Variety of species significantly affected
Water Quality
 Produced Water
 Byproduct of the stimulation and drilling
process
 Before natural gas can be recovered, water
that is pumped into the shale must be
allowed to flow out as “produced water”
 Can consist of fracturing fluids, heavy
metals, brine waters, dissolved minerals or
organic matter from the shale
(Arthur 2008)
Composition of a Fracture
Fluid

(Arthur 2008)
 Chemical Additives
 No “one size fits all” percentage that are added
to fracture fluid
 Additives in a single hydrofrac job result in
approximately 15,000 gallons of chemical
waste
 Most are proprietary
 All are necessary in order to ensure the success
of the drilling process
 Risk to human and environmental health is low
(Soeder 2009), (Arthur 2008), (NYSDEC 2009)
 Threats to Drinking Water
 Drilling must pass through shallow drinking
water aquifers
 Well casings made of steel and concrete can
become defective or damaged
 Potential chemical spills
 Road/construction activity

(Cornell University 2010)

 Wastewater Treatment Plants
 Cannot handle the quantity of water used
 Unsure of the chemical composition of the
proprietary chemicals used in the acid
fracturing process
 Do not successfully remove salts and other
dissolved solids

(Soeder 2009)
Additional Treatment Methods
 Re-inject produced water into the ground at
a shallow depth
 Re-inject produced water into the ground at
a depth below the Marcellus Shale
 Allow wastewater to evaporate from open
pits or tanks
 Dilute produced water and reuse it in future
fracturing operations
 New technology… (NYSDEC 2009), (Soeder 2009)
 Habitat Fragmentation
 Inevitable consequence of all mining
practices
 Occurs through construction of unpaved
roads, pipelines and infrastructure:
 Well pads drilling rigs, storage facilities, heavy
machinery
necessary to mine natural gas and eventually
transport it off site
 Roads
 Generally includes removing large rocks and vegetation,
and replacing them with crushed gravel or stone
 Each well-site must have an access road
 According to NY DEC every 150ft of 30ft access road
adds 1/10 acre to the total disturbed surface area
attributed to the well site
 Highly used fragments, such as access roads,
significantly increase impact
 Edge sensitive species affected most
 Increased erosion contributes to habitat and water-
quality degradation
 Sedimentation and Erosion
 Overflow off roads and impervious drilling pads alters
slopes and soils and further ↑ surface water quality issues
 Plants rooting is disrupted
 Aquatic receptors are affected by increased
sedimentation increasing TSS in the water column
 Velocity and volume of runoff ↑ with reciprocal ↓ in
infiltration (impermeable surfaces)
 Chemicals and pollutants are present on impermeable surfaces
 Pollutants adhere to eroded sediment particles
 Ecological Receptor- Trout
 Rising Stake-holder concern
 Chesapeake Bay Association PA and NY trout association, land
owners, fishermen
 Marcellus Shale spans under the Appalachian basin which
provides headwaters for numerous streams valued for trout
habitat
 Salinity, acidity, and toxicity in mine runoff are of concern for
trout health and ability to reproduce
 Increased impervious surfaces and increase acidity have been
shown to negatively affect Brook Trout populations in the
NorthEast (Conservation Strategy Work Group, 2005)
 Mine drainage in has historically in PA and WV has
drastically decreased stream ecological health
 USGS records over 3,400 miles of streams and GW contaminated in
PA alone due to mining practices (USEPA, 2001)
 Edge-related Stress
 Increased edge will affect some species more
drastically than others
 Life history traits, population numbers, physical size,
physical size and amount of area needed per individual
 Golden-winged and prairie warbler have shown
increase abundance in early succession edge areas
 Results NOT shown when fragmentation is maintained by
constant use and traffic
 Cerulean warbler – Edge sensitive species inhabitaing
areas along Marcellus Shale territory
 Largely impacted by habitat fragmentation due to mining
Soil Compaction & Reclamation
 Overburden must be removed to gain access to
bedrock
 Stockpiling of this material is essential for
reclamation efforts
 Where overburden is not removed, continuous
use of heavy machinery compacts soils
 Increased bulk density rates
 Creates difficult habitat for plant rooting
 Lower water infiltration rates
 Contributes to ↑ surface runoff
 Reclamation Techniques
 Open pits must be backfilled
 Soils must be tested for salinity, acidity and
toxicity in order to prepare restoration plan
 Salinity acidity and toxicity will likely all
contribute to Shale gas sites due to:
 salts, hydroflouric acid, heavy metal leaching and a
variety of chemicals used in the fracking liquid
 Grading and scraping to loosen soils and adding
Lime and fertilizer are recommended
 Many mine Reclamation sites fail due to soil toxicity
Recommendations for Water Management

 Communicating with local water planning agencies is essential for the

operators of the drills in order to manage water sources.

 Using several large sources of water instead of many smaller ones.

 Ensuring that the withdrawal of every water source used will not
significantly nor permanently deplete that source.

 Choosing water sources in close proximity to mine site.

 Ensuring the safe and effective disposal of produced water from the
acid fracturing process.

 Continue to research the proper disposal of produced water in order to

create more effective methods of treatment.
Recommendations for Land Use Change

 In order to protect trout populations, drilling should not be

permitted in areas deemed sensitive coldwater habitats.

 Multiple wells should be placed along the same access road,

while utilizing current roads as much as possible.

 Areas of sensitivity such as steep slopes, wetlands, and streams

should be avoided.

 Proper erosion controls must be implemented.

 Topsoil must be maintained for proper reclamation. Catch ponds

and/or artificial wetlands must be provided to store, filter and
monitor surface runoff from mine sites.
 Works Cited
 Arthur, J Daniel. (2008). An Overview of Modern Shale Gas Development in the United
States. All Consulting.
http://www.allllc.com/publicdownloads/ALLShaleOverviewFINAL.pd
 Soeder, Daniel and William Kappel. (2009). Water Resources and Natural Gas
Production from the Marcellus Shale. USGS.
https://webmail.uvm.edu/horde/imp/view.php
popup_view=1&index=11782&mailbox=INBOX&actionID=view_attach&id=2&mime
cache=e6686c56f385749fe79522412f9e4d3e
 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. (2009). Supplemental
Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining
Regulatory Program. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/12365971/OGdSGEISFull
 Cornell University. Water Quality Information for Consumers.
http://waterquality.cce.cornell.edu/naturalgasdrilling.htm
 USEPA (U. S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2001. What is the State of
the Environment in the Mid-Atlantic Region? Technical report EPA/903F/F-
01/003. Region 3, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
 Conservation Strategy Work Group. (2005) Conserving the Eastern Brook
Trout: status, threat and trends.
http://www.mmbtu.org/Conserving_Eastern_Brook_Trout.pdf